More than half of the French public believe that the democratic system in France does not work well, while a plurality believes democracy has deteriorated during the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.
The Ifop poll commissioned by the think tank Décider Ensemble revealed that 54 per cent of French people believe that the democratic system does not work well in France.
A plurality of 48 per cent believes that the democratic system had worsened since the election of President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, compared to 45 per cent who say it has not changed. A mere seven per cent said the system has improved, newspaper Le Figaro reports.
Around one in two French, or 49 per cent, say that they would welcome the use of local or national referendums. Eighty-four per cent said that French citizens, in general, should have a greater role in political decision making — a view shared across the political spectrum.
A citizen-initiated referendum policy was proposed during the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protests and in 2019. A poll from the time showed that as many as 80 per cent of French supported the idea, which would allow citizens to vote directly on new laws and largely bypass the French parliament, as in Switzerland.
Just over a third of the respondents to the Ifop poll said that they would like to see an improvement in participatory approaches to parliament, while around the same number said that members of the parliament should be elected solely by proportional representation, rather than the current two-round runoff system.
Economist Study Ranks France as 'Failing Democracy' https://t.co/xLKsyDmfHt
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 7, 2021
The poll comes after a report from the Economist magazine ranked France as a “failing democracy” due to the restrictions President Macron put in place during the Wuhan virus pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic has caused a huge decline in democratic freedoms, leading the average index score to an all-time low,” the magazine said in February.
During the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, more and more have warned of the possible breakdown of civil society as a whole, and the possibility of civil conflict.
In December of last year, French General Pierre de Villiers, the former chief of staff of the French armed forces, stated that growing issues with urban violence and Islamist radicalism could spark eventual open conflict.
“It can change slowly, or very quickly if there is a spark like in 1789 or 1914. France is an old democracy, a mature country, but it has historically struggled to reform. It is often by explosions, by ruptures,” General de Villiers said.
The former head of the French army is not alone in his assessment, with conservative French presidential hopeful Xavier Bertrand stating in September that the country risked civil war.
French Former Top General Says He Fears Civil War Due to ‘Crisis of Authority’ https://t.co/tLZrAEd816
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 9, 2020
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